COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Freshman A'ja Wilson scored 18 points, defending Southeastern Conference player of the year Tiffany Mitchell added 16 points and Alaina Coates had 12 points and 11 rebounds as No. 1 South Carolina remained unbeaten with a 79-61 victory over 12th-ranked Texas A&M on Monday night.
The Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC), who remained on top of the rankings for a 10th-straight poll earlier Monday, put away the Aggies with a 27-8 run in the second half after seeing their double-digit lead shrink to 40-38. That's when Mitchell made four consecutive free throws to start the run. She added four more points and Coates scored six points as South Carolina took control.
Texas A&M (16-5, 4-3) had been the last time to beat the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena in 2013. But the Aggies struggled shooting as 14-point-a-game scorer Courtney Williams was 3 of 21 from the field.
No. 20 Iowa 78
No. 15 Nebraska 72, OT
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Ally Disterhoft scored all 20 of her points in the second half and overtime to lead Iowa to its first victory against Nebraska in nine tries as a Big Ten opponent.
Bethany Doolittle had six of her 12 points during the extra period while Iowa outscored Nebraska 17-11. Samantha Logic finished with 22 points and eight assists and Disterhoft had 13 rebounds.
Iowa (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) rallied with a 17-6 run to lead 60-57 on Disterhoft's layup with 2:33 left in regulation.
Rachel Theriot's jumper gave the Cornhuskers (15-4, 5-3) a 61-60 lead with 4.5 seconds. Iowa inbounded long and handed off to Whitney Jennings who drew a foul with 1.3 seconds left. She made one free throw to force overtime.
No. 18 Mississippi State 59
Auburn 48
AUBURN, Ala. -- Victoria Vivians had 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Mississippi State beat Auburn.
Vivians was 8 of 22 from the floor and recorded the fourth double-double of her freshman season.
Breanna Richardson and Martha Alwal had 15 points apiece for Mississippi State (21-2, 6-2 SEC). Alwal was six of nine from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.
Vivians had 15 points in the first half and Richardson 11 as Mississippi State led 28-22 at the break.
Brandy Montgomery led Auburn (9-11, 0-7) with 21 points and Neydja Petithomme added 11. The Tigers dropped their eighth-straight game.
Auburn was playing without Hasina Muhammad, its leading scorer in SEC play, after being suspended for two games.
No. 25 Chattanooga 49
Samford 32
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Keiana Gilbert scored 14 points to help Chattanooga beat Samford for its 14th consecutive victory.
Chattanooga entered The Associated Press poll Monday for the first time since 1984 -- when it reached as high as No. 19. With the team entering the rankings it marked the fourth team that coach Jim Foster took into the poll. He's the first coach ever to do that.
Gilbert added seven rebounds and four steals for Chattanooga (18-3, 6-0 Southern Conference). The Mocs have won 40 straight conference games since 2013.
Taylor Reece hit two three-pointers and finished with 10 points for Samford (11-9, 4-1).
No. 13 N. Carolina 93
Syracuse 83
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Brice Johnson had 15 of his 17 points after halftime and No. 13 North Carolina shot 55 percent to beat Syracuse 93-83 on Monday night.
Nate Britt added a career-best 17 points and four three-pointers off the bench for the Tar Heels (17-4, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pulled away in the final four minutes for their sixth straight win. UNC shot 62 percent in the second half and took control once it stopped turning the ball over against the Orange's zone defense.
Johnson was key in UNC's second-half production. After managing just two points on one shot attempt in the first half, the 6-foot-9 junior went 5 for 5 after the break -- including three straight baskets in the first 90 seconds of the half -- and finished with 11 rebounds.
By the final horn, UNC had the best shooting percentage and scoring total allowed all season by Syracuse (14-7, 5-3).
Marcus Paige finished with 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists to lead the Tar Heels, who won despite committing a season-high 20 turnovers that led to 21 points for Syracuse.
Trevor Cooney matched his season high with 28 points to lead the Orange, while Rakeem Christmas had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
No. 15 Iowa State 89
No. 19 Texas 86
AMES, Iowa -- Georges Niang scored 19 points, Bryce Dejean-Jones had 18 and Iowa State held off Texas.
Jameel McKay had 14 points for the Cyclones (15-4, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a loss at last-place Texas Tech by running up a huge lead that nearly slipped away.
Iowa State broke open a tight game with a 27-12 run and went ahead by 21 with 11:36 left. The Longhorns answered with a furious rally that pulled them to 87-84 on Jonathan Holmes' three-pointer with 22 seconds left.
Javan Felix scored 20 points and Isaiah Taylor had 17 for Texas (14-6, 3-4), which has dropped consecutive games for the second time this month.
Sports on 01/28/2015